Jogger



MarchlS, 1966 w. c. HOFF 3,240,492

JQGGER Filed June 10, 1964 Inventor WALLY CHARLES HOFF by: CavmaflA/amm.

United States Patent 3,240,492 JOGGER Wally Charles Hoff, Anewen Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed June 10, 1964, Ser. No. 374,041 8 Claims. (Cl. 27189) This invention relates to an improved jogger for aligning stacks of paper or other sheet material.

Various types of joggers have been proposed in which the jogging action has been produced in several different ways. Thus, for example, in a typical example, an electric motor has driven a cranked drive shaft running in an eccentrically mounted bearing thus causing the jogger plates in contact with the paper to perform a predetermined fixed orbital movement. In this type of action, the path of the orbit was generally speaking predetermined and could not be changed without great difficulty.

As a result, only relatively minor adjustments, such as for example, adjusting the speed of the motor, could be made in the jogging action with the result that a jogger of this type was of only limited adaptability and, when jogging stacks of lightweight material for example, there might be a tendency for the material to become excessively shaken and even become more dispersed than before. Other types of drive mechanism have procured a linear reciprocal movement of the jogger plates generally along a predetermined path to and fro. Again, this type of action is of only relatively limited utility and in general, required relatively extended periods of operation to produce complete alignment of the sheet material in the stack along at least two edges.

For these and other similar reasons, the joggers of the prior art have usually been restricted to industrial application where they could be designed for the specific job in hand and where cost was a secondary consideration. The disadvantages outlined have hindered the development of a small economical and versatile jogger for use in ofiices and smaller businesses where a single machine must perform a variety of different functions in order to justify its cost.

Accordingly, it is an objective of this invention to provide a jogger which is relatively economical to manufacture and sell and is both simple and reliable in use, and is adjustable both as to the speed of the jogging action, and as to the type and degree of jogging movement developed.

More particularly, it is an objective of this invention to provide a jogger having the foregoing advantages which will operate so as to jog two or more stacks of material simultaneously, from different directions.

More particularly, it is an objective of this invention to provide a jogger having the foregoing advantages which is adaptable to operate with either light or heavy loads.

The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof throughout the various views and diagrams and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cut-away perspective view taken from the upper rear of the jogger according to the invention so as to show both the back and the front of the apparatus.

FIGURES 2a and 2b show different adjustments of a portion of the apparatus, corresponding to the different jogging actions, and,

FIGURES 3a and 3b show different generally orbital parts of jogging action at different adjustments of the apparatus.

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of FIG- URE 1.

3,240,492 Patented Mar. 15, 1966 Referring now to FIGURE 1, the jogger according to the invention will be seen to comprise the housing 10 pro vided with feet 11 of rubber or like material to avoid damaging of surfaces of tables and the like during operation. Screw holes 12 in brackets 13 permit attachment of a removable back panel (not shown). The front panel 14 of housing 10 will be seen to be angled forwardly to permit paper stacks to rest thereon under their own weight. Slotted openings 15 are formed in front plate 14 angled at precisely to one another permitting the two jogger plates or brackets 16 to pass therethrough for supporting paper stacks thereon. Slots 15 will be seen to be of substantially greater size than the actual dimensions of brackets 16 in order to permit jogging action of brackets 16 in a manner to be described below. Strips 17 of foam plastic padding material are applied to the lower sides of brackets 16 adjacent slots 15 in order to prevent contact therebetween which would set up an undesirable hammering noise and could result in possible damage or wear. Jogger brackets 16 are in fact both part of the same sheet metal plate 18 being bent forwardly therefrom at an angle normal thereto, plate 18 being mounted parallel to and immediately underneath front plate 14 of housing 10. Plate 18 is attached to front plate 14 by flexible mounting means, provided in this case, by pillars 19 of flexible rubber material. Pillars 19 will be seen to be of a configuration somewhat similar to a dumbell, one end of which is attached to plate 18 by means of a bolt 20, and the other end of which is adhesively bonded to plate 14. In this way, plate 18 is free to make limited movement in any direction relative to plate 14, but is biased to adopt the same position relative thereto when such movement has ceased.

In order to drive plate 18 to produce a jogging action, electrical motor 21 is mounted on bracket 22 by means of clamp 23, and drive shaft 24 extending therefrom through cooling fan 25. Drive shaft 24 is connected to one end of rubber universal coupling 26, and the other end of coupling 26 is connected to drive shaft 27. There is no other connection between drive shafts 24 and 27 except through the medium of rubber coupling 26 which is, in fact, sufficiently flexible to drive shaft 27 while the same is substantially misaligned relative to shaft 24. It will be noted from FIGURE 1 that coupling 26 and pillars 19 are in fact of the same construction, thus reducing the number of different parts required in the apparatus and reducing its overall cost. Shaft 27 passes through plate 18 and is provided with heavy duty tapered roller bearings 28 mounted in opposition to one another and fastened to plate 18 by flange 29. In order to produce the required jogging action two weights, 3e and 31, are eccentrically mounted on shaft 27 on either side of plate 18. Weight 30 is welded in fixed relation to shaft 27 on the forward side of plate 18 and weight 31 is movably fastened to shaft 27, on the rearward side of plate 18 by means of setscrew 32, which permits weight 31 to be rotated to various orientations around shaft 27 to vary the jogging action produced. Electrical power is supplied to contact plate 33, preferably in the form of a three-wire supply, with two live wires and one earth wire. The two live wires are connected to motor 21 through variable rheostat 34, and the neutral wire is connected to plate 18, being fastened thereto by bolt 35 to permit the discharge of static from jogger brackets 16 and plate 18 which is accumulated from the sheets of paper in the material being jogged. Control knob 36 extends through front panel 14 to permit adjustment of rheostat 34 by an operator.

In operation, a stack of paper or other sheet material (not shown) is placed at an angle on front plate 14 resting with one edge on one of jogger brackets 16 and the other edge on the other jogger brackets 16. The motor 21 is then switched on by movement of control knob 36 and shaft 24 will rotate driving coupling 26 and shaft 27. As shaft 27 rotates weights 3G and 31 will cause the same to adopt an eccentric orbit about the axis of shaft 24 which of course, remains on its predetermined alignment at all times. The eccentric movement of shaft 27 will be communicated through roller bearings 28 to plate 18 which will thus be forced to move around the same eccentric orbit. In this way, the stack of paper resting on brackets 16-16 will be rapidly shaken and the sheets of paper therein will quickly become aligned. By means of very simple trial and error the operator can select the most effective and suitable jogging action for the particular material and load in actual use by merely adjusting rheostat 34 by means of control knob 36 to vary the speed of motor 21. Due to the differential effect of weights 30 and 31 on shaft 27, variations in the speed of motor 21 will produce either a more expanded or more contracted Orbital movement of shaft 27 and hence of plate 18. In

addition, such adjustment will also produce a certain de-,

gree of variation in the type of orbital movement produced. Two very simple illustrations of different orbits which may be produced by adjustment of the speed are shown in FIGURES 3a and 3b. In addition, further variations both in the size and nature of the orbit can be produced by rotation of weight 31 relative to shaft 27, Two possible variations are shown in FIGURES 2a and 2b, although obviously, this is capable of infinite adjustable over the range of possible positions, and again it is simply a matter for trial and error to locate the most effective position for weight 31 for any particular class of operation. As stated, under the influence of eccentric movement of shaft 27', caused by weights 30 and 31, plate 18 will be forced to make a similar movement, and rubber pillars 19 will flex readily to permit the movement of plate 18 in this way. Jogger brackets 16 extending through slots 15, will also be moved in the corresponding orbit, within the confines of slots 15 thus producing jogging action on the stack of paper resting thereon from two sides simultaneously.

If desired, several stacks of material can be placed on jogger brackets 16 at the same time, such stacks being interleaved and cross-stacked to permit different stacks to be removed and readily identified after jogging. In addition, as the load on jogger brackets 16 is gradually increased by the addition of further stacks, the jogging action can also be progressively increased by gradual adjustment of control knob 36. In this way, the jogger can be kept in continuous operation while assembling a large group of relatively small individual stacks of material such as is frequently done in the operation of a small office or business.

The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is made by way of example only and the invention is not limited to the specific features shown but contemplates all such variations as come within the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A jogger for stacked paper and the like sheet material and comprising: a housing; bracket means extending from said housing for support of said material thereon; means movably mounting said bracket means in said housing; a first drive shaft rotatably connected to said bracket means for movement in unison therewith; weight means eccentrically attached to said first drive shaft, a second drive shaft connected to said first drive shaft, and flexible coupling means between said first and second drive shafts.

2. A jogger for stacked paper and the like sheet material as claimed in claim 1 including: a slotted opening formed in said housing oversize relative to said bracket means.

3. A jogger for stacked paper and the like sheet material as claimed in claim 1 including: two bracket members extending from said housing for support of said material thereon; and two slotted openings formed in said housing at right angles to one another and oversize relative to said bracket members.

4. A jogger for stacked paper and the like; sheet material as claimed in claim 1 including a motor driving said second drive shaft.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said weight means comprises at least two weight members attached to said first drive shaft with their respective centres of gravity offset relative to the axis of said shaft, and adjustable means in at least one of said members for moving its said centre of gravity relative to the centre of gravity of the other said member.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including flexible resilient mounting members connected between said bracket means and said housing.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a shaft bearing mounted in fixed relation to said bracket means with said first drive shaft extending therethrough and supported thereby, and two weight members one on each side of said bearing mounted on said shaft with their respective centres of gravity offset relative to the axis of said shaft.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bracket means comprises a single portion of sheet material of generally L-shaped formation the free ends of the two arms of the said L-shaped being bent normal to the remainder thereof and extending from the housing as aforesaid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,008,651 11/1911 Korff 271-89 1,613,918 1/1927 Vallier 271-89 2,707,632 5/1955 Daneke 271-89 2,891,394 6/1959 Goloif 74-574 X M. HENSON WOOD, JR Primary Examiner.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Examiner.

R. A. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A JOGGER FOR STACKED PAPER AND THE LIKE SHEET MATERIAL AND COMPRISING: A HOUSING; BRACKET MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID HOUSING FOR SUPPORT OF SAID MATERIAL THEREON; MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTING SAID BRACKET MEANS IN SAID HOUSING; A FIRST DRIVE SHAFT ROTATABLY CONNECTED TO SAID BRACKET MEANS FOR MOVEMENT IN UNISON THEREWITH; WEIGHT MEANS 